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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24110683">All that was and all that will be</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie'>PerriewinkleNerdie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Open Heart (Visual Novels)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:27:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,299</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24110683</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's their wedding day.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>All that was and all that will be</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello, hello, hello! How are you guys? We good? We kicking?<br/>I wasn't going to write this one at first, or at least not immediately, but here we are, putting work on hold :D<br/>Enjoy! &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He woke up to the sensation of featherlight kisses, trailing all the way from his shoulder to his ear and back. Her hair tickled him slightly, grazing his side. His mind slowly started registering more and more details, like the brightness of the light, flowing from the gaps between the curtains, or the faint sound of the leaves being moved by the wind outside. The details were beginning to get blurred out by the sensation of her closeness, wiping clean everything else from his mind.</p>
<p>“That is one hell of a way to wake up, Miss Herondale.” He muttered, his voice thick with sleep. She giggled lightly, moving her whole body on top of his, hugging him tightly. “Can I turn around to do this properly?”</p>
<p>“I am quite comfortable, Mr. Ramsey, you make an excellent pillow. But I suppose I could allow you to switch position.” Claire teased him, nuzzling her nose against his back, right between his shoulder blades. His posture shook with laughter.</p>
<p>She moved away from him, letting him turn around, the sheets twisting along with him. He kept his eyes shut, recalling how they argued with Louise to let them both sleep in the same bed instead of separating for the night. They managed to get their way, as long as they promised not to look at each other before the ceremony.</p>
<p>Their wedding ceremony.</p>
<p>“Are you really that scared of Louise that you’re willing not to look at me for the next five hours, just to stay on her good side?” Claire laughed, falling into his embrace as his arms wrapped around her tightly, sighing happily.</p>
<p>“She terrifies me! And besides, we’re going to be a family soon, I want them to like me.” a sliver of insecurity was still present in his tone, even though every single member of the Herondale family told him that for all they knew, he was already one of them and that if he ever needed anything, he was to come to them and he would get their support and help.</p>
<p>“Yeah, if you need to get rid of the body, or you need someone to kick some asshole’s ass, I’m game. Call me anytime, E.” Will clapped his hands, hoping to be reassuring, and while Claire laughed, Ethan was just a bit terrified.</p>
<p>“I, uh, don’t think that will be necessary, but I’ll keep that in mind.” Ethan hesitated before answering, his eyes searching Claire’s face for any indication that her brother was joking. She responded with a wicked grin, wrapping her arm around his shoulders, lowering her voice.</p>
<p>“Will is a hitman by both day and night. Which basically means that we all know how to hide a body and how to get rid of the blood stains.”</p>
<p>His eyes widened slightly at her words, turning his head to look at his future brother-in-law, who waved his hand at him with a wide smile full of mischief. The attending then shrugged, leaning back in his seat, pulling Claire tighter against his side. “Then I guess it’s a good thing that I know those things too.”</p>
<p>“It’s official, Ramsey is one of us. No takebacks, nowhere to run. You two should hurry the hell up with this wedding.”</p>
<p>It was her turn to twist in his embrace, pressing her back against his chest to eliminate any chances of their eyes meeting. He ran the tip of his nose along the column of her neck, breathing in deeply. His hold on her tightened, his fingers tracing circles on the skin beneath his shirt she was wearing to bed.</p>
<p>“They more than like you and you know it. So do I, for that matter.”</p>
<p>“You <em>like</em> me? Is that why you’re marrying me? I’m not sure I believe you.” he teased her, squeezing her sides playfully. She tried to stifle her giggle and failed miserably.</p>
<p>“Fine, I more than like you. I can even prove it. That is, if you’re going to play nicely.” She felt him nod and she closed her eyes, turning once more. Her fingers grazed the sides of his face slowly, blindly searching for his lips, his nose, his eyes. He couldn’t see her smile just as she couldn’t see his, but, strange as it might have been, they both felt it.</p>
<p>She finally pulled him to her, their lips meeting sloppily, laughter ringing in the room as they navigated the kiss with their eyes closed. Each one was more insistent and urgent, the intensity rising slowly. Ethan held her closely, tracing the line of her spine with his fingers, a low groan slipping past his lips when she tugged on his hair with a little more force.</p>
<p>Claire moved away, pressing their foreheads together, her breathing heavy. “I have to go.” she whispered, hugging him to her tightly. He shook his head, refusing to let her get away from him. “You’ll see me soon.”</p>
<p>“Too long if you ask me.” he reluctantly released his grip on her, feeling the heat of her body leaving his side. “Damn, you look so good in my shirt.”</p>
<p>“You’re not looking at me!” she called out to him over her shoulder, laughing as she slipped out of the room.</p>
<p>“Come back to me soon, Claire.”</p>
<p>“Love you too!”</p>
<p>------------</p>
<p>“You are so lucky I don’t see any bags under your eyes, Missy, or Ramsey would be in trouble.” Louise muttered under her breath as she applied the concealer onto Claire’s face. She frowned, looking at her sister with a question in her eyes. “If you two had sex last night, that would mean that you broke the promise you made me, and <em>that</em> would mean that I would have to kill him.”</p>
<p>“Please, don’t.” Claire laughed, but she was completely serious. “I mean it, let him live.”</p>
<p>“He has nothing to worry about. Now shut up and let me work.”</p>
<p>It took two hours to get her hair and makeup done, and another forty minutes to get her into her dress. The veil sat on top of her head, kept in place with an intricate headband, gemstones sparkling in the light. The jewelry suited her perfectly, even though she had to argue with Louise and her mother when it came to the amount and the scale of the accessories. The only thing she didn’t argue with was the pair of shoes that adorned her feet. They made her almost as tall as her future husband, which made her anticipation to see the look on his face when he realizes it even more unbearable.</p>
<p>A knock on the door didn’t surprise her, as Louise left the room to get their Mom, so she expected to see her sister when the door opened. She was sitting by the mirror, so she saw the reflection of the person that entered the room, closing the door behind them. Her eyes widened when it wasn’t her sister that was standing mere two meters away from her, but her very own fiancé.</p>
<p>“Ethan? What are you doing here?” she asked in a hushed tone, eyeing the door behind his back. Ethan was frozen in place, his gaze glued to her, drinking in how she looked.</p>
<p>“I- was looking for Will, but- <em>wow.</em>” He breathed out deeply after a long moment, taking a hesitant step towards her. She stood up to face him, putting her added height on display. For the first time, they were at the same eyelevel. His surprise manifested in the smirk that lit up his features. It melted away pretty quickly, though, because soon enough, his eyes sparkled with tears that threatened to fall.</p>
<p>“Ethan, are you okay?” she whispered, rushing to his side. He pulled her to him slightly, his hands wrapping around her waist. Nodding his head, he tried to speak, but words failed him, and the tears fell after all. “Good thing you don’t have any make-up on, or Louise would have had to kill you for crying.” Claire laughed as she helped him with wiping the tears off his face.</p>
<p>“Now I feel like a fool. How come I’m the only one crying and you’re holding yourself together?” he responded as he wrapped his arms around her gently, taking a closer look at her face.</p>
<p>“Sheer willpower to not get killed by my sister before I marry you.” she whispered, pressing her cheek to his delicately.</p>
<p>“If I say I was hoping for a kiss, would you laugh?”</p>
<p>“You’ll get one soon, have some patience.” She did laugh, as she pushed him out the door with a wink. “Go, before she finds you here and kills you, I’d like to have a husband at the end of the afternoon.”</p>
<p>------------</p>
<p>“Could you fidget even more? You’re making me nervous, and it’s not me getting married today.” Will exclaimed in a hushed tone, nudging Ethan’s arm with his fist. “She’ll be here in a literal minute, calm down.” With that, he left his side and ran to the entrance of the room.</p>
<p>True to his words, the soft music began playing and at the end of the aisle, three people appeared. Lara and Will, both throwing flower petals, pink tiaras on their heads. And behind them was Claire, laughing at the looks her brother was throwing her over his shoulder. Once they reached the end of their walk, Will threw the lasts of his petals with a dramatic sigh, making everyone in the room laugh.</p>
<p>Claire’s eyes met Ethan’s and a delighted smiles lit up their faces. They already saw each other, not that anyone besides them knew about that, but the impression was just as breathtaking as it was the first time. As she stepped up the three stairs to stand by his side, Will called out.</p>
<p>“Take care of each other.”</p>
<p>The music died down, the officiant beginning the ceremony. When they got to their vows, Louise suddenly spoke up, standing up from her seat.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry for interrupting, but I need to do one thing.” She ran up to them, handing them a tissue each, patting them on their shoulders. “There, for the tears. I won’t have any puffy eyes and makeup disasters on my watch.”</p>
<p>Claire volunteered to go first, claiming that if she didn’t and she let Ethan talk first, she would choke up and not a word would escape her lips. Gripping his hands tightly and with a deep breath, she began.</p>
<p>“If anyone told me a year ago that I would be standing where I am with the guy that helped me reach a book in the library, I would call you crazy. Yet here we are, who would have thought. The rain is where we <em>really</em> got to know each other and let me just say that dancing in the rain with you is still one of my favorite things to do. You’ve been my biggest supporter – no offense, Will –“ she nodded towards her brother, laughing at his fake offended sigh. “with all the late nights where you helped me study, all the evening spent on cooking together and patching up my burned hands and my paper cuts.” He raised their joined hands to his lips, pressing a loving kiss to her palms. “Now I’m looking at you, our eyes on the same level for the first time.” He laughed at that, shaking his head. “And I can’t believe that you are mine. The sheer idea of sharing the rest of my life with you is beyond me, but I can’t wait. I love you so much.”</p>
<p>Ethan had to clear his throat and take a moment to gather his thoughts. As she recalled all their moments together, he was reliving them in his mind. He wasn’t aware of the tears that ran down his cheeks until Claire wiped them away with her tissue with care.</p>
<p>“I didn’t think I would be rendered speechless, but then again, you always amaze me. I didn’t expect to find you when I did, and I definitely didn’t expect to hold you so close to me. I was a different man before you met me, and everyone who knew me at that time will confirm it.” he looked to his side, Naveen and Harper waving at them, nodding their heads eagerly with wide grins. “Thanks for support, guys. Many may not believe that I first told you I loved you when I lost the game of Monopoly.” He was interrupted by an obnoxiously loud ‘no way!’ from Will, followed by a loud smacking sound as Louise told him to zip it. “And while I still don’t like games, I am willing to play anything, as long as you do it with me. You gave me a sense of security, someone to come home to. You gave me a family.” He looked over at all the people surrounding them, nodding his head with gratitude. “You gave me a new life, Claire, a life I get to share with you. For those things, and all the things ahead of us, I can’t thank you enough. And I will never run out of love for you.”</p>
<p>Just as she predicted, Claire started crying about halfway through his speech. Ethan was crying too, both of them wiping each other’s faces softly, laughing quietly. Their hands remained intertwined until the officiant announced them husband and wife, at which point he wrapped her in his arms and lifted her up as their lips slammed against one another in a lingering kiss. Will didn’t let the opportunity to cheer them on teasingly slide, so he took cautious three steps away from Louise before whistling as loud as he could.</p>
<p>Claire was the one to break the kiss, caressing his cheeks with her thumbs. “I love you.”</p>
<p>“I love you too, Mrs. Ramsey.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
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